The Bucket List Book Adventure: Gorgias - Book 18 of 277

 

Dear Henry,

Book 18 of the Bucket List is done!  Let me tell you all about Gorgias by Plato.

If you recall, Plato was a Greek philosopher who lived between 428 to 347 BC. He was a student of Socrates, and most of his writings are dialogues between Socrates and someone else. In this case, the dialogue was with Gorgias, a statesman from Leotini who taught public speaking, known then as oratory.

It began almost immediately as an attack, with Socrates insulting orators everywhere, insisting that public speaking is not a profession, per se, but a craft. The argument then turned to virtue and oratory's role in that. It was ultimately established that public speaking can help spread virtue but can't ultimately be considered a virtue itself, as speeches can easily be made for evil purposes. Socrates also implied that if a culture is not virtuous, it will reject any orators who speak of it. 

In Meno, Socrates also explored virtue but did a much better job defining it here. Socrates and Callicles were very different people, and Socrates's aesthetic lifestyle was at war with Callicles' hedonism. In Gorgias, Socrates finally nailed down "virtue" as discipline, orderliness, justice, and friendship and proved that one can't be happy without virtue. 

As in Meno, there is also a bit of a tangent, this time about the length of life and worrying about death. Of course, Socrates quickly established that the gods decide how long we live and that no one can really escape their fate. However, it seemed an odd place in the discussion to bring these arguments forward.

I wonder why the title is Gorgias, as most arguments are between Socrates and Polus or Callicles, the students of Gorgias.  

The Socratic method worked better here, too. In Meno, Socrates seemed to be insulting, but in Gorgias, Callicles proved to be just as aggressive in his arguments, and the hostility seemed more balanced. However, I'm still not a fan of the method and would probably walk away from someone trying to "teach" me anything this way.

I still have several Socratic dialogues left on the book list.  Next up is the Republic, and hopefully, he will provide a clear definition of the virtuous state.

Until next time!

xoxo a.d. elliott

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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller currently living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to the travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

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